Immigration will be a major issue in the 2016 presidential campaigns. As the debate continues over border security and paths to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in this country, the issue has made it into campaign speeches given by the candidates.
In a recent campaign appearance in Las Vegas, former New York senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D) told attendees, essentially, that if they wanted action on immigration, they shouldn't turn to any of the Republican presidential candidates for support. Clinton said this:
"Not a single Republican candidate, announced or potential, is clearly and consistently supporting a path to citizenship. Not one."
PolitiFact Florida looked into Clinton's claim and rated it MOSTLY FALSE. Reporter Joshua Gillin says Clinton's absolute statement leaves little room for interpretation.
"We got a list together of the announced and presidential candidates on the Republican side," Gillin said. "We took a look at their positions, and we actually found that one candidate, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R, South Carolina), has consistently shown that he supports a very rigorous path to citizenship. Graham has worked on legislation relating to this, and he supports things like work requirements and learning of the English language for any immigrant who wants to become a U.S. citizen."
Gillin notes that Graham is really the only candidate who's position is different among Republicans.
"The rest of the presidential contenders, both declared and potential, have all waffled that they are against a path to citizenship," Gillin said. "Clinton is wrong when she says 'not one,' but there is definitely no rush among Republican candidates to reverse their current positions."
PolitiFact rates Clinton's statement about Republican support for a path to citizenship for immigrants as MOSTLY FALSE.
SOURCES: No Republican support for path to citizenship?
- PolitiFact ruling
- Hillary Clinton, comments at Rancho High School in Las Vegas, May 5, 2015
- New York Times, "Who Is Running for President (and Who’s Not)?" accessed May 7, 2015
- USA Today, "Millions of immigrants waiting for green cards," June 23, 2013
- Yahoo! "Hillary Clinton presses advantage on immigration," May 5, 2015
- Politico, "The Iowa Ag Summit: 10 takeaways," March 7, 2015
- ABC News, "Jeb Bush: I'm 'in Sync' With Lindsey Graham on Immigration Reform," March 10, 2013
- Wall Street Journal, "Jeb Bush Says He Has a ‘Grown-Up’ Immigration Plan," March 13, 2015
- New York Times Magazine, "If He Does Run, Marco Rubio Won’t Let Friendship Get in His Way," Dec. 31, 2014
- Wausau Daily Herald, "Yes, Gov. Walker supported path to citizenship: column," Feb. 17, 2015
- Chris Christie, "In Case You Missed It: Video & Transcript of Governor Christie’s Interview with Jake Tapper on ABC’s ‘This Week,' " July 26, 2010
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- WMUR-TV, "Raw video: Jeb Bush speaks at Politics and Eggs," April 17, 2015
- Marco Rubio, interview on Face the Nation, April 19, 2015
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- Breitbart.com, "A Guide to 2016 Republican Candidates’ Positions on Illegal Immigration," Jan. 16, 2015
- Buzzfeed, "Spokesman: Jeb Bush Supports 'Legal Status,' But Could Support Pathway To Citizenship '(Depending) On The Details,' " May 3, 2015
- Mother Jones, "With Liberal Views Like These, Ben Carson's Going to Have a Tough Time Winning the GOP Nomination," Jan. 28, 2015
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- America's Voice: "UPDATED: Meet the 2016 GOP Candidates for President — and Their Positions on Immigration," accessed May 6, 2015
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- America's Voice: "New Report: '2016 Republicans and Immigration – What They Say, What They Mean, & Why it Matters," April 8, 2015
- PolitiFact, "Debbie Wasserman Schultz says Marco Rubio now against immigration reform, pathway to citizenship," Jan. 30, 2015
- PolitiFact, "Has Jeb Bush flip-flopped on immigration and a pathway to citizenship?" March 8, 2013
- PolitiFact Wisconsin, "Scott Walker disavows support for path to citizenship," March 6, 2015
- Washington Post Fact Checker, "Clinton’s claim that no GOP candidate has consistently supported a path to citizenship," May 7, 2015
- Email interview with Roy Beck, president of NumbersUSA, May 6, 2015
- Email interview with Steven Camarota, director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies, May 6, 2015
- Email interview with Michael Earls, spokesman for America’s Voice, May 6, 2015
- fEmail interview with Alex Conant, spokesman for Marco Rubio, May 6, 2015
- Email interview with Brittany Bramell, spokeswoman for Security Through Strength, May 6, 2015
- Email interview with Josh Schwerin, spokesman for Hillary for America, May 6-7, 2015